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Multicultural Education: The demographics

• 250 to 1,000 Native American languages existed in North America before colonization; 155 survived in the US after colonization; only 20 are currently spoken in the US.

• Vision of US founders: a country with a unified history, with unified traditions, and with a common language—strong assimilationist idea symbolized by the “melting pot.”

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• 1700’s to the 1880’s (19th century) : Defensive pluralism. Maintenance of ancestral ways of life while participating in the civil life of the nation.

• Second half of the 19th century: instruction in other languages than English. 600,000 children, 4% of the elementary school population, were receiving instruction in German. Other languages: Spanish, Czech, French.

The demographics

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• 90% of the immigrant population during the 19th and earlier 20th centuries was European

• Naturalization Act of 1906: Knowledge of English became required for naturalization

• First half of the 20th century: high sense of homogeneity resulting in Americanization of classes

The demographics

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• 1908 surveyInequality in education resulted in:

– Boston: 70% of White students reached high school; 38% of the students whose home language was not English reached high school;

– Chicago: 42% for English speakers and 18% for non-English,

– New York 32% for English speakers and 13% for non-English.

The demographics

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• 1911 survey: – 28% of American-born students and 27% of

foreign-born English speakers were behind grade level;

– 43% of foreign-born non-English speakers were behind grade level.

The demographics

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• The 1965 Immigration Act opened the door to Asian immigrants

• Lau v. Nichols (1974): lead to the Equal Educational Opportunities Act in August 1974

• Castañeda v. Pickard (1981): school district in Raymondville, TX was charged with violating the civil rights of minorities

The demographics

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• By 1988, nearly 95% of the population in US spoke English, and 85% were native speakers

• 1991-1998: 7.6 million immigrants entered the country, 75% were legal– 74.7% from nations in Latin America

(Mexico and countries in the Caribbean) – 30.9% from nations in Asia (China, the

Philippines, India, and Korea )– 14.9% from nations in Europe

The demographics

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• 2000 census– 1990-2000 population increase of 13.2%

from 248, 709,873 to 281,421,906;– 29% of the total population was comprised

of people of color (non-white)– 50.3% population increase due to net

immigration

– Texas data of 2000 census: http://www.txsdc.utsa.edu/download/pdf/txcensus/c2kprof00-tx.pdf

The demographics

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• 2000 census– Growth of Hispanic population (high rate of

immigration and high birth rate):• 22.4 million in 1990 to 35.3 million in

2000 • Hispanics became the largest minority

group in the country

The demographicsThe demographics

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• The percentage of white students is gradually decreasing while the population of students of color is increasing: – 1982, Whites made up about 73% of the

nation’s student population– 1998, Whites made up about 63% of the

nation’s student population– 2020, it is projected that Whites will make

up about 54.5% of the nation’s student population

The demographics: student population

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1,894,108 Hispanic (44%) 1,676,987 White (39%) 616,050 African American (14%) 127,092 Asian (2.9%) 13,791 Native American (0.3%)

Texas Student Profile Grades PK-12

Texas State Data Center and Office of the State Demographer

(Dr. Steve Murdock)

The center functions as a focal point for the distribution of census information for Texas. The Center also disseminates population estimates and projections for Texas, as well as

other information from the federal government, state government, and other sources.

Link to pages containing demographic data for Texas and at the National level

http://www.txsdc.utsa.edu/

Census projections:–Ethnic minorities –including African Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian and Pacific Islanders will surpass the White population

–The number of children in poverty is growing in the US and it expected to continue to grow in the future.

Demographic Projections

Census projections:–2020, persons of Hispanic origin are expected to make up 38% of the US population –2025, it is projected that Hispanics will make up 47% of the total population in the US

http://www.txsdc.utsa.edu/presentations/

Demographic Projections